India has been very focused on its energy security needs in recent years. On that note, the 2nd stage of India’s three-stage nuclear program has begun. It started with the core loading process at India’s first-ever indigenous fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. The core loading process started on 4 March 2024 and was witnessed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.
Core loading is a process in which you load the nuclear fuel assemblies inside the core of a reactor. Completing this process will mark the first step towards ‘Criticality’. This nuclear reactor has been part of the Indian government’s 3-stage nuclear program for decades. Homi Jahangir Bhabha designed the program considering India’s large thorium reserves.
As per India’s three-stage nuclear program, the first stage represents the operationalisation of India’s pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR), which use natural Uranium or U-238 as nuclear fuel. It produces energy and Plutonium-239 as a bi-product.
Plutonium is used in stage 2 FBR reactors to create more energy, Pu-239 and U-233. Then, in stage 3, Pu-239 is combined with thorium in reactors to produce energy and more U-233. When put together, all these three stages will produce around 700 MWe and U-233, which is a nuclear fuel for other reactors.
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This three-stage nuclear program will propel India to become a completely self-sufficient nation in nuclear energy and will also take care of the nation’s energy needs. Just like solar power, nuclear power is one of the most efficient and clean ways to generate electricity, but reactors don’t work at their full capability due to the shortage of U-233 and U-235. This three-stage program will start a chain reaction that will result in more energy for the people and more fuel for the reactors.
